There are lessons from Monday to Friday only, with some sports fixtures and trips taking place at the weekends. The school begins for students at 08.50 in the morning and ends in the afternoon at 15.20. There is staff supervision in the Via Rombon playground from 08.15 for pupils who arrive early. There are after-school clubs, which can continue until around 16.45. There is a shuttle bus after these clubs to some locations in Milan.

There is a wide range of sporting, music, instrumental lessons, drama, outward bound and curricular clubs on after-school. Depending on the club, there may be a shuttle bus to return students home. A programme of activities is published for each term.

There is the option of buying a school lunch. The menu is published every week in the School’s Newsletter. Students may also bring their own packed lunches. From Year 12, with parental consent, students can go off-site for lunch. The cost of school lunches, currently €5.72, is not included in the fees.

Around 60% of the students are from international Italian families or have Italian as their first nationality. Many of these have come from abroad or have a parent of a different nationality. Indeed many of our students have more than one nationality. The remaining students comprise over 40 different nationalities. Many students wish to go on to a university in the UK, and want a British style education with excellent preparation, information, advice and guidance for university applications.

An IGCSE is a two-year (Years 10 & 11) programme. BSM students take around nine subjects, leading to formal UK based internationally recognised qualifications at the end of Year 11. The IGCSE is an excellent preparation for students for future studies of the International Baccalaureate (IB). The IB Diploma is studied in Years 12 & 13 and facilitates entry to the best universities in the UK, the US, and Italy, as well as top universities around the world.

Primary School comprises Foundation Stage which is the equivalent of Scuola Materna, then Years 1-6 (Scuola Primaria). Senior School is the equivalent of Scuola Secondaria di Primo e Secondo Grado. We start school with Nursery from age 3. Our Year 1 begins age 5, whereas in Italy it starts age 6.

Sport is part of the curriculum. We have our own Primary School gymnasium. From Year 3, the children also go off-site, by bus, to the nearby Campo Schuster and several other facilities for individual sports, such as swimming. There are many sports available, including after-school clubs offering football, rugby, volleyball, basketball, badminton, fencing, trampolining, canoeing, rowing and karate amongst others.

Most teachers are hired from the UK and have a Postgraduate Teaching Qualification (PGCE). Some teachers have lived here for many years; others stay for 2-5 years. Many have worked in other British Schools abroad. The turnover of staff is healthy, and we are able to recruit top teachers from the UK. The French, Spanish and Italian teachers are all native speakers.

No, all our Sixth Form students take the International Baccalaureate Diploma, which, in our opinion, is the gold standard of international education, and the best possible preparation for university and the world of work.

However, in Year 11 advanced language students, particularly in Italian, French and Spanish, do sometimes complete accelerated A-Level courses to prepare for more in-depth studies at IB.

Homework makes students independent learners and consolidates knowledge. In the Senior School, students have a homework timetable so that they do not get too much work, ensuring there is a balance between subjects. Each section of the school has its own policy in this regard.

We run a Careers Fair every year with representatives from a wide range of careers on hand to give advice to our students. At the BSM we have a specialised team who advise students and ensure they get the best advice to enter leading universities around the world. Here is alist of the university destinations of our students in 2018.

No, we have no specific associated school in the UK but we are formally accredited by HMC, COBIS, ISI, Cambridge International Examinations and the International Baccalaureate. We have two Heads of leading independent schools in the UK on our Board of Governors.

In determining the appropriate age group the British academic year will be used - 1 September to 31 August. See table the below for clarification:

Year Group

Age by 1 September on year of entry

Nursery

3*

*For children turning 3 by 1 November there is a November entry.

*For children turning 3 by early January there is a January entry.

Reception

4

Year 1

5

Year 2

6

Year 3

7

Year 4

8

Year 5

9

Year 6

10

Year 7

11

Year 8

12

Year 9

13

Year 10

14

Year 11

15

Year 12

16

Year 13

17

There are three key reasons why the school feels it is in the students' best interests to follow this policy:

at the BSM, our classes tend to be ahead of the Italian system in their coverage of subjects, so to enter a year ahead would put a pupil at a big disadvantage academically

the above year is correct for age and date of birth within the UK system – the pupil will be with students of the same age group, and this will benefit them socially

when it comes to applying to university, they will be competing with people of the same age across the UK - and the rest of the world; if a pupil enters the year ahead, they will be younger than all of their competitors and therefore could be at a disadvantage. Moreover, many UK universities now only take students once they are 18.